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Philip of Montfort
Philip of Montfort, (d. August 17, 1270, Tyre) was Lord of La Ferté-Alais and Castres-en-Albigeois 1228–1270, Lord of Tyre 1246–1270, and Lord of Toron aft. 1240–1270. He was the son of Guy of Montfort and Helvis of Ibelin (daughter of Balian of Ibelin). History He joined the Seventh Crusade, and was employed as the ambassador of Louis IX in negotiations for a truce and retreat from Damietta. In 1256, he expelled the Venetians from Tyre, an action which helped to precipitate the War of St. Sabas. During that conflict, he attempted to relieve the Genoese in Acre in 1258, but was repulsed, which helped decide the struggle for the Venetians. In 1266, he lost Toron to the Sultan Baibars; but even in Philip's old age, Baibars feared both his energetic leadership and the possible success of his appeals to Europe for aid. Assassination The two Assassins were dressed up as high-ranking Mamluk soldiers, and sent on horseback to Tyre. When they arrived, the two men told Philip that they had come to convert to Christianity and join the Crusaders. Naively, the Lord of Tyre accepted their story and had them baptized and even retained them as soldiers in his service. Over the next few weeks, the two Assassins spent their time, waiting for the right opportunity to carry out their attack. Their act was so good that they seemed to have been readily accepted by the other Crusaders, and they even made friends with one of Philip’s servants. It happened that one day this servant had come over to share a meal with the two Assassins, but they were not in their room at the time. The servant than started to snoop around their lodgings, and as he looked into a quiver of arrows he came across a poisoned dagger wrapped in cloth. When the two Assassins returned, the servant confronted them about it, and soon he was told about the whole plot. If the servant was loyal, he would have gone to Philip and told him about all of this, but instead he was promised a bribe of 100 bezants by two Assassins to keep quiet. Now the Assassins did not have that much money on them, and since they had told the servant they would pay him in a couple of days, they now decided that it was now or never for them to carry out their mission. One of the Assassins was to go to Beirut, where he could find Julian of Sidon, while the other was to remain in Tyre and wait for the first opportunity to kill Philip. According to one source, he got that chance on an early Sunday morning, when he saw the lord of Tyre standing alone in the courtyard of his castle, just outside of the chapel. As Philip was distracted by playing with one of his rings, the Assassin took out a dagger and stabbed him, leaving him mortally wounded. He then took a sword and almost killed Philip’s son John of Montfort in the chapel before he was wrestled to the ground by the guards and dispatched. According to the anonymous chronicler known the Templar of Tyre, the Sultan called upon the Assassins, one of whom (feigning a desire to convert to Christianity) stabbed Philip as he prayed in his chapel and then fell upon his son John. Mortally wounded, Philip cried out for aid; guards immediately entered and dispatched the fida'i. Seeing his son without serious injury, Philip threw up his arms and died. Reasons Behind the Assassination Attempt The mastermind behind this attempted assassination has been pegged to be a local Mamluk commander, or even the mysterious Assassin leader of Syria – the Old Man of the Mountains himself. The assassination was mostly likely part of a much larger operation – one that sabotaged crusader operations for several months and prevented them from coordinating a joint invasion against Syria with the Mongols. Sources http://www.medievalists.net/2011/05/16/the-prince-the-assassin-and-the-mongols/ Category:Victims Category:Lords Category:Lords of Tyre